All members of the School Board work together to move the district forward while always keeping in mind what is in the best interest of the children of Harlandale. The Harlandale ISD Board of Trustees is made up of seven individuals who were elected into their positions by the community. The four men and three women meet once a month for a public meeting held at different campuses. They are also assigned to sit on specific Board and District Committees.

Give up your summers, earn a scholarship. That trade off is well worth it for hundreds of students who take part in the Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program (TexPREP) at the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA). Tuesday, July 31 marked the Closing Day Assembly for the 2012 summer program.

Student participants from across the city, including 63 from the Harlandale ISD, were honored in groups, but a select few dozen of them were recognized individually as well. They got to walk across the stage and receive a special gift for their outstanding achievement, earning a final grade above 98 after sticking with the program for at least three years. Four HISD students have been with the TexPREP program for four summers in a row. They are:

Clarissa Ferniz, McCollum HS

Kimberly Garza, Harlandale HS

Nathan Kosub, McCollum HS

Brian Munoz, Harlandale HS

All students were required to complete seven weeks of curriculum in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Through their coursework they increased their STEM knowledge, took special field trips, learned new skills, became better problem solvers and made new friends. Students also earned one unit of elective credit and many of them are now eligible for scholarships ranging from $1,500-$13,500 to attend a local college.

TexPREP was established in 1979 at UTSA and has since grown to 34 sites across Texas. About 4,000 middle and high school take advantage of the program every summer. It is designed to help boost the number of people, women and minorities in particular, who enter a STEM field.